Senior security officials held a meeting with bullion traders on Monday to discuss concerns over gold price speculation, rising rates, and suspected smuggling. The meeting focused on opaque pricing mechanisms and the unusually high gold prices, with officials urging traders to take corrective measures, Dawn reported.Â
Qasim Shikarpuri, President of the All Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association, said the meeting also addressed the role of social media, particularly WhatsApp groups, in influencing gold prices.Â
Security officials recommended the formation of a 15-member national committee of traders to ensure transparent communication of daily gold rate movements.
According to the news report, the Karachi Bullion Exchange, located on Zaibunnisa Street, has been closed since September 3, 2024, to curb speculative trading and hawala transactions. Officials urged the resumption of formal trading and the daily gold rate announcement by 2 pm.Â
Shikarpuri assured that trading would resume after consultations with members but emphasized that the association continues to issue daily rates based on the interbank rupee-dollar parity, despite the exchange’s closure and the halt of official gold imports.
Traders also raised concerns over two SROs: SRO 760(I)/2024, which regulates the import and export of precious metals, and SRO 924(I)/2020, which requires jewellers to comply with anti-money laundering laws. Shikarpuri called for the abolition of SRO 924, citing ongoing difficulties for the sector.
This follows a recent crackdown by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which arrested five employees of a gold trading business in Karachi last month, recovering Rs 12 million and 11 gold biscuits. The business owners, however, fled the scene.Â
A similar incident occurred two years ago when law enforcement arrested five jewellers over alleged malpractice, but they were later released after trade bodies promised increased transparency.
